The aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,108,392 describes a fishing reel comprising a body supporting a rotatable spool and spool driving means, a line guide pivoted about an axis fixed relative to the body, a first assembly including means for effecting pivoting of the line guide from a first position, permitting winding of the line on to the spool, to a second position, permitting unwinding of the line during casting, a second assembly including means for effecting pivoting of the line guide from the second to the first position, and means for transmitting a secondary movement to the spool ensuring suitable layering of the line on the spool.
In the embodiment more particularly described in the aforementioned patent, a frame is provided which is rotatable about a principal shaft, and a second shaft is rotationally connected to the principal shaft, the spool being operatively associated with one end of the secondary shaft, the secondary movement of the spool is also a rotational movement which is obtained by means of the frame which includes bearing means coupled with the other end of the secondary shaft and locates the secondary shaft at an angle of inclination relative to the principal shaft, and the frame holds the spool onto the secondary shaft inclined relatively to the principal shaft and rotationally connected to the latter.
The body of the reel supports means for driving of the spool which advantageously comprise a crank capable of rotating an auxiliary shaft carrying on the one hand one gear of a first pair of bevel gears of which the pinion is rotationally connected to the principal shaft and on the other hand the pinion of a second pair of bevel gears of which the other gear is rotationally connected to the rotary frame.
The reel likewise comprises a conventional type of line guide which is well known in prior reels. The line guide is received by its ends in two supports, of which the first is displaceable in both rotary and translatory motion. The line guide is pivotally mounted around an axis fixed with respect to the body of the reel and is pivotally movable from a first position which permits or enables the winding of the line onto the spool, to a second position which permits or allows the line to issue from the spool when casting. The line guide is also pivotally movable from the second to the first position, respectively by a first and a second assembly of means for effecting pivoting, each assembly being in the form of a mechanical monostable toggle, that is to say that after pivoting due to action of one of the assemblies, release or reoperation of this assembly does not modify the position of the line guide. Pivoting of the line guide in the opposite direction can only occur after operation of the other assembly, with the result that the handling of the reel is easier and more reliable.
More precisely, the first assembly of means for effecting pivoting comprises a first lever, rotation of which causes the first support to rise, causing the line guide to pivot from the first to the second position, and the second assembly of means for effecting pivoting comprises a second lever, rotation of which effects rotation of the first support so as to cause the line guide to pivot from the second to the first position. The two supports are substantially cylindrical and are each equipped with a slot. The first lever for effecting pivoting is rotationally connected with a rod carrying a lifter stud for the first support, at the periphery of which is arranged an abutment which holds the line guide in the first position.
The slot in the second support is bounded on one side by an inclined ramp, and operation of the first lever lifts the first support, bringing the corresponding end of the line guide beyond the abutment, so that, by virtue of the inherent resilience of the line guide, the latter is caused to slide along the ramp and to pivot from the first to the second position. The second lever is in turn rotationally connected to a shaft carrying a dog for driving a rack, counteracting resilient means such as a spring placed in the rack, the rack cooperating with teeth on the first support so as to rotate the latter. In addition, the first support contains a slot and a driving abutment defined at one end thereof, so that the operation of the second lever for effecting pivoting causes the driving abutment to rotate to bring the line guide from the second to the first position.
Finally, in a fully automatic embodiment, the reel according to the aforementioned Patent additionally comprises an electric motor coupled by way of a clutch device, or a free wheel, to the principal reel-rotating shaft. The electric motor is thus capable of causing the winding of the line onto the spool. In this embodiment, it is advantageous that the second assembly for effecting pivoting of the line guide also comprises the means for control of the electric motor, which may be a reversible motor, in such a manner that operation of the motor can be effected either in the line winding direction or in the unwinding direction by reversing the polarity of the electric motor.
Assuming that the line is reeled in and the line guide is in the winding position, when the user of a fishing rod equipped with a reel according to my earlier United States Patent wishes to cast, such user must pass the forefinger of the hand holding the rod beneath the first lever so that such user can then draw the latter towards the rod. This movement does not come naturally to the user: firstly, because it forces the user to move a bent forefinger away from the rod, so that the back of the forefinger does not hit either of the two pivoting levers, to extend it beneath the first lever, and then for the user to bring the extended forefinger back towards the rod; and secondly, because with conventional reels, after the line guide has been pivoted by the hand which does not hold the rod, casting is carried out with the movement of the forefinger, which is moved away from the rod to release the line previously pinched against the rod.
For these reasons, use of a reel according to the parent patent may in some instances give rise to some confusion between the movements, and/or some difficulty in the holding of the fishing rod prior to casting, which does not allow the user to cast with the customary precision obtained with conventional reels.
The present invention consequently proposes to overcome these disadvantages and, simultaneously, to simplify the construction of the assembly of means for controlling the pivoting of the line guide.